Pulitzer Finalist 1MDB Scandal Reporters Bradley Hope & Tom Wright Launch Journalism-Focused Production Co Project Brazen

Tom Grater
·1 min read
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Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, the former Wall Street Journal reporters who together led the team that broke open the 1MDB scandal, are launching Project Brazen, a journalism studio that will tell true stories and develop IP for multiple formats including series and podcasts.

The pair also co-penned the book Billion Dollar Whale, about the fraud’s mastermind, Malaysian playboy Jho Low. The $6 billion scandal brought down a government and forced Goldman Sachs to pay the largest ever penalty under U.S. bribery laws. A series based on the book is in development with SK Global.

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Project Brazen was the codename Wright and Hope gave to a three-year investigation that spanned the globe from Curaçao to Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur and Los Angeles, and is being repurposed for the duo’s new outfit. The company is aiming to create and develop IP across podcasts, books, documentaries, television series and films. It is initially being self-funded using revenue from the pair’s projects but Hope tells Deadline the plan is to expand significantly and they are exploring financing options to support that growth.

The company has signed with UTA for representation in all areas.

“Project Brazen’s stories transport audiences inside hidden worlds. Through our painstaking and challenging reporting process we peel back the cover on international crime, business and politics,” Wright and Hope said in a statement.

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